Kristl Dhaene

Trained midwife Kristl Dhaene offers holistic

pregnancy support to expats and locals alike. Writer
Joanna Mayhew discovers her views on birth and
beyond, with photography by Charles Fox.
How did your company,
Pregnancy, Birth
and Beyond, start?
It has come gradually. I had
worked here with the Ministry
of Health on midwifery
education. In 2008, there were
not many midwives, and there
was a huge need for services
towards pregnant and post-
partum women. I spotted
more and more pregnant
women, so I thought, why not
[start providing services]? My
company started in 2011 as a
group of women who could
interact with each other. One
purpose was teaching, and
giving them some sense of
exercise and yoga, and also
spiritual awareness. Second
was sisterhood, which is very
important in pregnancy.
What led you to do this work?
Seventeen years ago, I came
to Laos to work in a medical
school. It was extremely hard
but I survived. What I did was
just cut off this part of my body,
my brain thinking all the time,
planning and Western-style
programming. People dont
do that there; they just live. I
was very touched by people
who live close to the earth.
The places that I had worked
[before] were hospitals, and
birth was totally de-sacralised.
And I was part of it, because
I had not seen anything else. I
left the hospital because I just
couldnt take this environment
anymore. And then I read all
the books about the spiritual
side of midwifery, and thats
where I feel that I ft in actually.
Did giving birth to your
son shape your approach?
I dont have any good
memories. My natural birth
experience was taken away
from me. The doctor just
decided all at once on a
caesarean birth. Something
there was lacking. I didnt have
a doula and that is what I
want to offer now to women.
Adoula is a person who is in
between you and this medical
establishment. What I felt
there was what most women
feel here, that the doctor just
decides for them. So their
power has been taken away. All
that I missed, I want to give to
women now.
What services do you offer?
Childbirth preparation classes,
pre-natal foor yoga, pre-natal
water yoga, post-natal yoga
with baby yoga, post-natal baby
massage and baby swimming.
I like this holistic approach
seeing a woman from the
beginning or even before. If
they go and see a doctor, its
antenatal care. Many women
these days think the pregnancy
is purely medical. Although
I am a midwife, I do all the
non-medical things breathing,
their alignment, how they
experience pregnancy.
You also offer conscious
conception counselling and
yoga. What does this involve?
Awoman can come to see me
if she wants to conceive. What
Im doing is bringing energy,
which I have learned through
massage and yoga, to the womb
through types of breathing. As
women, our creative power is
in our sexually reproductive
organs. The creative centre is
not the head; your mind has to
shift. For men, its the same. Its
an old concept but we are not
aware about it.
What do you hope to achieve?
What I want to do when they
come here is open doors for
different experiences. Thats
why I call it sacred and
conscious pregnancy because
its this one event in a womans
life that can totally transform
her, if shes guided into it. Its
the same as if you would walk
in the Himalayas, you know.
Its an experience, and you
would go with a Sherpa. And
this person will carry your
bags and show you things. And
pregnancy is something like
that. My task here as a teacher
is just to uplift my students,
and give them more than I
have, or that I know.
Do your services resonate in
the Cambodian context?
For Cambodians, this is totally
new. There is nothing like
this. Khmer people have not
been exposed to all of these
services. Like Laos, they are
very reluctant to [do] all this.
Big organisations are bringing
Westernised, medicalised
births to this part of the world.
Its not that Im against it; its
just that there is not a good
balance yet.
In the West, there is a huge
move towards spirituality
again. While here you have
traditional in the countryside
and totally new, Western [in
Phnom Penh], but there is
nothing like a balance.
What keeps you passionate?
I feel that I walk along with
people through moments
in their life, and its very
enriching. I can share
something from my own
experience as a mother,
as a midwife. I say its
compassionate care. I love
the mum, I love the baby
thats inside, and I love to see
them as a whole. And I feel
there is a huge lack of this.
Im only 54. I have another
54 years to go, so Im only
halfway. I have to keep up.
I was reading that the next
spiritual centre is shifting
to South America, so I have
to go there, to dance tango
when Im 80. My mind-set has
become very much like people
in Laos basic to the earth.
For more information, visit the
Pregnancy, Birth and Beyond in
Phnom Penh Facebook page.
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